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Unit 8: Plant and Animal Organ Systems and Processes: Reproduction and
Development
Lesson 8.2
Introduction 1
Learning Objectives 2
Warm Up 2
Bibliography 20
Lesson 8.2
Animal Reproduction and
Development
Introduction
Unlike plants, animals do not produce spores or seeds that can be dispersed into their
environment for reproduction. Instead, life emerges from externally-incubated eggs or
direct birth from the female parent. From the fusion of sex cells, new individuals grow and
develop until they reach maturity. The reproduction and development of animal species
are significantly different from that of plant species. From the previous lesson, you have
learned the common stages in the life cycle of plants. In this lesson, you will explore how
animals reproduce and develop into mature individuals. How do animals reproduce and
develop? How are these processes different from that in plants?
8.2. Animal Reproduction and Development 1
Warm Up
Materials
● ripe bananas
● camera (phone camera will suffice)
● clear glass jar
● baker’s yeast
● a computer unit with an MS PowerPoint
Procedure
1. Form a group with four members.
2. At least five days before the activity, prepare fermented banana (a mixture of
mashed banana and baker’s yeast) and place it in a jar. A pinch of yeast may be
added to every ⅛ kilo of banana.
8.2. Animal Reproduction and Development 2
Fig. 8.2.1. Developmental stages in fruit flies
8.2. Animal Reproduction and Development 3
8.2. Animal Reproduction and Development 4
Fig. 8.2.2. The life cycle of a frog involves changes in morphology and habitat.
Metamorphosis (meta, new; morphe, form) is a biological feature in the life cycle of some
animals, usually in insects, amphibians, fishes, and other invertebrates. Metamorphosis
involves a rapid change of an organism from an immature larva to a sexually mature adult.
This transformation is accompanied by changes in morphology, function, and habitat of the
individual. Metamorphosis can be classified into two general types, namely complete
metamorphosis and incomplete metamorphosis.
Complete Metamorphosis
Complete metamorphosis or holometabolous development is the type of life cycle that
is exhibited by fruit flies, moths, butterflies, beetles, and other insects. These insects have
larval stages that do not resemble the adult stage, and a pupa stage is present. Shown
below in Fig. 8.2.3 is the complete metamorphosis of a stag beetle. The larval stage, which is
8.2. Animal Reproduction and Development 5
Fig. 8.2.3. The complete metamorphosis of a beetle can reach more than three months.
Incomplete Metamorphosis
In incomplete metamorphosis, as shown below in Fig. 8.2.4, the early or juvenile stage
resembles the adult stage, and there is no pupa stage. Two forms exist according to the
type of juvenile stage. Hemimetabolous development occurs when the juvenile stage
thrives in an aquatic environment, whereas paurometabolous metamorphosis occurs
when the juvenile stage thrives in a terrestrial environment. Hemimetabolous insects
such as dragonflies, damselflies, and mayflies have aquatic larvae or nymphs called naiads.
These larvae have external gills that allow them to breathe underwater, usually in streams.
Paurometabolous insects such as grasshoppers and cockroaches have terrestrial larvae or
nymphs that simply undergo several molting stages to become adult or imago.
8.2. Animal Reproduction and Development 6
Fig. 8.2.4. The incomplete metamorphosis in dragonflies (left) and grasshoppers (right)
Animal Reproduction
During animal reproduction, the existing adult individuals perform certain mechanisms to
allow their gametes to fuse and form new individuals or offspring. Reproduction is preceded
by gametogenesis, where gametes are produced in gonadal tissues. However, similar to
plants, the reproduction in animals is also not limited to sexual means.
Asexual Reproduction
In animals, the process of asexual reproduction ensures that future generations of
individuals carry the same genetic information as to their parents. Thus, offspring are
usually called clones. Asexual reproduction is usually an option for animals when they
cannot locate their mating partners. Also, this allows them to rapidly and efficiently
colonize a particular environment.
● Fission or binary fission, as shown below in Fig. 8.2.5, is a form of asexual
reproduction where new individuals are formed through the splitting of the parent
into approximately equal halves. The sea anemone is an example of organism that
perform this type of asexual reproduction.
8.2. Animal Reproduction and Development 7
Fig. 8.2.5. Fission in unicellular organisms such as
Anthopleura artemisia (sea anemone)
● Fragmentation is a form of asexual reproduction where a parent needs to break its
body parts into fragments to allow regeneration and regrowth of lost parts, as shown
below in Fig. 8.2.6. The fragments grow and form new, fully functional individuals.
For example, sea stars break their arms and allow them to regenerate and form
clones. Take note that only arms with part of the central disk attached can grow a
new organism.
Fig. 8.2.6. Sea stars perform fragmentation and subsequent regeneration of lost
parts.
● Budding is a form of asexual reproduction where a bud or outgrowth forms in the
body of the parent and develops into a new individual. This bud eventually breaks off
from the parent’s body once functional organs are already present. For example, the
8.2. Animal Reproduction and Development 8
Fig. 8.2.7. Budding in hydra begins as an outgrowth in the parent’s body.
● Parthenogenesis is a highly specialized form of asexual reproduction where an
offspring is produced without fertilization, as shown in Fig. 8.2.8. The haploid
unfertilized egg develops into an adult individual. Female bees perform
parthenogenesis to produce haploid drones or males. In bee colonies, males are
always haploid, and females are always diploid. Thus, when there is fertilization
always results in female bees. However, if fertilization is absent, males are formed.
Fig. 8.2.8. Parthenogenesis in female bees forms haploid male bees.
8.2. Animal Reproduction and Development 9
Fig. 8.2.9. Sexual reproduction is accomplished externally in fishes and internally in birds.
For animals in which fertilization occurs internally, embryos are produced and nourished in
three different ways, as shown in Fig. 8.2.10.
○ Oviparity: The eggs are fertilized internally, but they will complete their
development outside the mother’s body. Embryos obtain their nourishment from
the yolk nutrients stored in eggs. Examples of oviparous animals include bony fishes,
cartilaginous fishes, reptiles, and birds.
○ Ovoviviparity: The eggs are fertilized internally, and they complete their
8.2. Animal Reproduction and Development 10
A B C
Fig. 8.2.10. (A) Oviparous frogs lay eggs so that tadpoles are nourished outside of the
female’s body. (B) Seahorses are ovoviviparous. Males house the developing eggs inside
their bodies until they are ready to hatch. (C) Viviparous mammals like sheep directly
nourish their young until they give birth.
Mechanism of Fertilization
During fertilization, only one sperm shall fertilize the egg. The fusion of two or more sperms
with an egg can lead to polyspermy, and it causes abnormal development. Thus, the egg
has some mechanisms, namely, the “fast block” and the “slow block” to prevent
polyspermy. The general mechanism of fertilization is shown below in Fig. 8.2.11.
1. The head of the sperm cell comes into contact with the jelly layer or zona pellucida,
which refers to the outermost layer of the egg cell in most animal species.
2. Sperm receptors attach to the glycoproteins on the egg cell that initiates the
acrosome reaction. The acrosome is located at the tip of the head of sperm, which
contains digestive enzymes that can degrade the egg’s zona pellucida.
3. The sperm penetrates the egg plasma membrane. This interaction is mediated by the
8.2. Animal Reproduction and Development 11
Fig. 8.2.11. The general mechanism of fertilization that helps prevent polyspermy
4. The membrane depolarization initiates calcium release and triggers a cortical
reaction, a form of exocytosis in the egg. This lifts the vitelline layer of the egg
away from the plasma membrane and creates the fertilization envelope.
5. The fertilization envelope acts as a shield that prevents other sperm from entering
the egg. This process refers to the slow block to polyspermy.
6. Now the egg is activated, and the fusion of the genetic material from maternal and
paternal parents occurs.
8.2. Animal Reproduction and Development 12
Fig. 8.2.12. Cleavage formation and the blastula
8.2. Animal Reproduction and Development 13
Fig. 8.2.13. Gastrulation involves the rearrangement of cells to form three distinct layers,
namely, the ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm. The process starts at the animal pole of
the blastula, where there is less yolk as compared to the vegetal pole. This also forms the
archenteron, the initial alimentary canal in the developing embryo.
Organogenesis
During organogenesis, organs and tissues are starting to form through further cell division
and cell differentiation. One of the early signs of organ formation in the developing embryo
is the neurulation, the mechanism of which is shown in Fig. 8.2.14. It refers to the
formation of the future brain and spinal cord in vertebrates. During neurulation in the
embryo, an ectodermal group of cells called the neural plate starts to fold and eventually
form the neural tube.
The neural tube is the embryonic precursor of the central nervous system. Thus, it
ultimately gives rise to the brain and the spinal cord. At the same time, the mesodermal
layer of the gastrula starts to form the notochord of the embryo. The notochord is a rod of
cartilage that serves as the primary skeletal element in the embryo and eventually forms the
future vertebral column of vertebrate species.
8.2. Animal Reproduction and Development 14
Fig. 8.2.14. Neurulation allows for the formation of the neural tube in the embryo
The process of gastrulation provides a greater understanding of organ formation. Most of
the tissues and organs of the developing organism will be derived from the three layers
formed during gastrulation. Fig. 8.2.15 below shows the different types of cells that will
come from the ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm of the gastrula.
Fig. 8.2.15. Derivative organs of the three layers of the gastrula
8.2. Animal Reproduction and Development 15
What do you think will happen if cells do not
differentiate during the development of the
embryo?
Different hox genes that control the body orientation. Body regions are
color-coded in the gene sequence.
8.2. Animal Reproduction and Development 16
Key Points
__________________________________________________________________________________________
● The life cycle of an animal usually starts from the fusion of the male (sperm) and the
female (egg cell) gametes during the fertilization process.
● Metamorphosis is a biological feature in the life cycle of some organisms. It can
either be complete or incomplete, depending on whether a pupa stage is present.
● The fertilized egg will undergo active cell division and cell differentiation to form the
developing embryo during embryogenesis.
● The embryo will undergo organogenesis, where it starts to form several types of
tissues that will lead to the formation of the organs and organ systems.
● Once an individual is formed, this will grow and mature into an adult, which will be
capable of reproducing and forming another generation of individuals.
The general pattern of the development of a fertilized egg into an adult organism
__________________________________________________________________________________________
1. During reproduction, the fusion of gametes of adult individuals allows for the
formation of new generations of offspring.
2. The process of sexual reproduction in animals ensures that the future generation
of individuals carries the same genetic information as to their parents.
8.2. Animal Reproduction and Development 17
8.2. Animal Reproduction and Development 18
Challenge Yourself
8.2. Animal Reproduction and Development 19
Photo Credits
Fission by The Open University of Hongkong is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 via Open
Textbooks for Hongkong.
Frog eggs by Geoff Gallice is licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
Pregnant male White's Seahorse-Hippocampus whitei (16175153524) by Sylke Rohrlach is
licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
Lambing in England -10March2012 (2) by Karen Roe is licensed under CC BY 2.0 via
Wikimedia Commons.
Bibliography
Coyne, Jerry. 2009. Why Evolution Is True. Oxford University Press. Genetic Science Learning
Center. July 1, 2013.
Johnson, G.B., and Raven, P.H. 2001. Biology: Principles & Explorations. Austin: Holt, Rinehart,
and Winston.
Klug, W.S., Spencer, C.A., and Cummings, M.R. 2016. Concepts of Genetics. Boston: Pearson.
Mader, S.S. 2014. Concepts of Biology. New York: McGraw-Hill Education.
Reece, J.B., and Campbell, N.A. 2011. Campbell Biology. Boston: Benjamin
Cummings/Pearson.
8.2. Animal Reproduction and Development 20